Emerging Technology

Nanotechnology and biotechnology are two young but rapidly developing sectors that will have major impacts on our lives. They're also happening all over Greater Philadelphia. The Nanotechnology Institute, a partnership between Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern PA, Drexel and UPenn facilitates the research, development and commercialization of nanotech's real-world applications, both changing the world and fueling the regional economy. The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County and PennsylvaniaBio in Malvern are both giving biotech priority and strength. Greater Philadelphia companies' work in applications software, information management and alternative energy are other examples of the region's leadership in bringing the very latest to the marketplace.

Emerging Technology Features

Like all organisms, founders start small and evolve. But instead of birth, childhood, adolescence and adulthood, they mature from intellectual capital to incubation, bootstrapping to venture capital, startup to established company.

The earliest civilizations knew how to weave fiber into textiles. But those products bear little resemblance to the high-tech "functional fabrics" being engineered in Philadelphia -- these miraculous materials can see, hear, sense and communicate.

Thanks to an exciting University City Science Center program, businesses seeking a foothold in the U.S. are choosing Philadelphia. These firms are pioneering groundbreaking technologies, transforming sectors such as oncology and wind power.